By the Time This Gets Real, It's Too Late

We take this moment to break away from Conference Armageddon to relay this breaking news story.

FLASH -- @BPGlobalPR is not, we repeat not, an official spokesperson of BP.

Umm. Crickets chirp. Paper rattles down a dusty street. Feet shift back and forth.

Really? Gosh, thank you BP and Twitter for clearing that up. After allowing the one-man satirical band, Leroy Stick, to get traction among the hipsters, then a six-figure following on-line, and finally showing up in columns in the New York Times and most recently Time Magazine, BP made the bold move of formally requesting of @BPGlobalPR to be policed by the Twitter parody page policy.

One is left to consider that BP corporate had to wait until @BPGlobalPR made the traditional media before they invoked one of the most basic social media maneuvers.

By the time Time noticed, it was too late. I highly recommend picking up this week's dead tree edition as James Poniewozik discusses the matter (more in upcoming blog.) By the time the social media engine is getting "real" media, well, dare I say another blowout preventer has failed, and judging from Leroy's reaction, this Top Kill will be equally effective.